In New Lottery Company Limited v The Gambling Commission and Allwyn Entertainment Limited and Ors [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC) Mrs Justice Joanna Smith DBE has comprehensively dismissed the claims brought against the Gambling Commission by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell plc and The New Lottery Company Limited (TNLC). The claims challenged the Gambling Commission’s conduct of the Competition for the 4th UK National Lottery Licence and modifications made to the Licence following its award to Allwyn in 2022.
By the close of the 3-month trial in January 2026, many of TNLC’s allegations had been abandoned. In a 280-page judgment, Joanna Smith J has dismissed the remainder of the claims in full.
The Judge found that during the Competition for the Fourth Licence, TNLC had been properly disqualified for “failing over half” of the 23 “different mandatory requirements” necessary for its bid to be eligible for acceptance, that there was an “enormous gap” of over 30% in scores between its aggregate score and Allwyn’s, and that TNLC had stood no real chance of winning the Competition. The Licence had therefore been fairly and properly awarded by the Gambling Commission to Allwyn.
The Judge also found that the modifications made to the Licence by the Gambling Commission were lawful. Confirming that they were not made necessary due to any fault of Allwyn – as TNLC had initially claimed – the Judge found that they had instead been caused by the “hostile litigation” pursued by Camelot and IGT between 2022 and 2023 and “would almost certainly have been required irrespective of the identity of the successful bidder ”. The Gambling Commission were therefore fully justified in modifying Allwyn’s Licence to take account of the delays that Camelot and IGT had caused.
Addressing TNLC’s claims for £1.3 billion damages, the Judge held that they had suffered no loss (and had no standing) because it is “fanciful to suppose that TNLC would have won” any competition against Allwyn, the “world leader in conducting lotteries”. The Judge also held that TNLC’s modifications claim was time-barred.
A copy of the judgment can be found here.
Joseph Barrett KC acted successfully for Allwyn throughout the proceedings, instructed by Dominic Roughton of Quinn Emmauel LLP. Joseph also acted successfully for Allwyn in respect of the challenges to the Competition for the Fourth Licence brought by Camelot and IGT. The legal challenges related to award of the Fourth Licence has been on-going for more than four years and represent the most significant and complex procurement law litigation conducted in the UK to date.
